Traditionally software has been developed and introduced into organisations to automate and simplify existing manual processes and procedures. The benefits of which are understood and accepted in general, however the increase in productivity and enhanced security of commercially sensitive business material grow in comparison with advancements in software development technology.
In terms of productivity there are three key areas of relevance with increased implementation of software solutions within any business:
- Automation of business process flows – Mapping of existing business processes and procedures so that an automated representation may be developed accordingly. Often business processes such as these do not exist in a clearly defined workflow so embarking on an automated design project will not only lead to a solution that enhances the efficiency of the process but a cleansing of the process itself.
- Systems integration – Often corporate data sets exist in data silos in disparate systems, leading to duplication of data entry and reporting. By building integration interfaces using software technology the gaps between data silos may be bridged to allow organisations a complete picture of their data, removing the need for repeated data entry and thus improving overall productivity.
- Reporting for decision making – By achieving the first two points, collating data sets and effectively representing key metrics, statistics and charts, meaning business stakeholders can make better tactical and strategic business decisions.
In terms of data security with regards to commercially sensitive and important documentation, implementing software solutions offers the following security benefits:
- Authorised access – Using secure access portals enforces an authorisation requirement to obtain access to documentation. Combined with strict password policy, two-factor authentication and other measures this authorisation can be further validated to ensure key personnel are only granted access.
- Audit access – Effective audit features may be built into document management platforms so that every action of an authorised user will be logged, and any updates made may be historically evidenced as required.
- Data encryption – With recent advancements in cloud storage solutions, utilising such solutions not only offers an economically scalable solution but offers additional features such as data encryption whereby any breaches of the raw document repository will require a further decryption exercise to reveal content in a human- readable format.
- Data privacy (GDPR) – Compliance with data privacy laws such as GDPR are important to any business and achieving compliance without the implementation of software solutions to enforce control is extremely difficult. Through the implementation of software solutions where authorised access is both audited and encrypted, complying with the requirements of data privacy specifically where personal/sensitive data is involved.
In summary, implementation of effective software solutions within your organisation is the natural evolution of any business hence why significant investment has been made in recent years in digital transformation projects, across industries, with software development and software solutions at the heart of it all.
